Photographer's Note

This was where I ended up in the fabulous verdant Muang Hoa Valley at 1500 m elevation out of Sa Pa, on a cool slight cloudy afternoon during my photo routine after a slow bumpy ride along the muddy unpaved mountain road on my rugged Minsk Russian motorbike.

Located at the foot of Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range - also known as Tonkin Alps- it reveals endless valleys of sweeping undulated rice fields and amid the tender greens, you could make out clusters of small huts, they are the tiny villages and hamlets on steep hills populated by the colorful Black Hmong and Red Zao ethnic minority groups.

I was told that at this altitude the farmers only get one rice crop a year as compared to three crops in the lowland area.

These very natural crafted rice fields, a testimony to all their back breaking labour intensive work, could tell the tale of many generations revealing like the ridges of fingerprints,,,,

Good afternoon, this afternoon.
An interesting and good article on the site, with a description ...
Nice view of the princana fields and houses ...
Good time recording, contrast and Perspectives, demonstrated good rice fields, beautiful colors.
Good work and composition, well captured moment, beautiful rice fields.
Nice afternoon and all the best.
Paja.

Your viewpoint, and decision to fill the frame with the rice terraces, has given your photograph a graphic strength and an almost abstract quality. The tones seem realistic, and the "monotony" is nicely broken by the few scattered dwellings. A compelling image.

Hello ,
amazing structure made entirely by man yet enriching the landscape. I like how the tight framing focuses on the lines of the terraces and how the whole composition has been diversified with some single f=houses scattered around. Lovely picture with excellent colors and superb sharpness.
Thanks for sharing and have a nice Easter weekend
Kamila

Terraced rice fields on the slopes of mountains and hills always make good photographic study. And you captured this well. And I was lucky too to have captured some scenes at China Longsheng mountains.

Hi Abmdsudi
That you mention fingerprints, that was what I thought of when I saw the thumbnail, finger prints or perhaps animal scales! A beautiful sight, and really a testament to what people can achieve. Its so cool when something created for such a real world purpose ends up being so beautiful to view as well. I love how it transitions from green to brown as well.
Best wishes
Noel

Hi Abmdsudi
A lovely shot of the pattern of rice paddies taken from your elevated viewpoint. The range of soft colours is a wonder to behold. It's hard to believe that the curved lines and reflective sheets of water were not arranged deliberately as some huge work of art. Good note, too.
Regards,
Andrew

Hello Abmdsudi,
Indeed this is a testimony to generations of hard work and the ingenuity of the farmers. Necessity has created fabulous patterns along the valley and hillsides. Fvourable weather conditions will probably create beautiful reflections in the hundreds or thousands of small dams. I don't know if the difference of colours are due to different crops or different soils, but in any case there are very beautiful tones of green, yellow and almost pink seen here.
Kind regards,
Gert

Hello Abmdsudi,
This view is absolutely amazing and unique due to the perfectly executed lights, colors, details. Love it and its strong visual effect of composition. Superb work! Many thanks for sharing!

Hello Abmdsudi ,
Terraces fields have been abandonned in many parts of the world , with the modernism . But not yet in Asia . I'm not sure that it will be the same in 50 years ...
A fabulous view on this wonderful landscape .
Regards

You're capturing well this landscape by a good angle and excellent tone/clarity, so it's interesting and impressive to see the terraced farm compartmented by the slope at the foot of a mountain. It's also impressive in small huts seen in some places and color contrast of the lush green and transparent water.

Hello Abmdsudi
This is a truly wonderful hommage to the ingeniouty of mankind and to the hardworking farmers in the mountains of Vietnam. It is amazing what man can do.
Superb view over those rice terraces that has created a graphically strong image.
have a great day
Daniel

Every time I see pictures of those rice terraces I'm still in awe with creativeness of those early farmers who created them. We have a few of them in northern Philippines although I've never seen them in person. Great pov and good lighting in spite of shooting against the sun. Well done, tfs.

Hello Abmdsudi,
this is a mesmerizing view, you filled the frame with this amazing landscape and we still have the sense that the patterns go on and on. The view through the mist is clear and well defined, there are wonderful shiny textures and fine, natural colours. The large and tiny structures dispersed all over the frame are intriguing focal points that allow our glance to rest for a while before starting wandering again. I like very much the thought expressed in your note, that the landscape tells the story of many generations. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a great evening,
Ourania

Hi Abmdsudi,
I love aerial photographs because they give us information about the surface of a landscape we otherwise won’t get. Your high POV on that elevation works excellently!
This very spacious mix of fields and small settlements along the valleys is fascinating. Your composition is really successful. My compliments also for the notes!
Warm regards
Harriet

A photo that deserves all its admirers and the points. I love the graphism, the exquisite silvery light and the luminous greens of the paddy terraces. Excellent sharpness and depth, aswell as a superbly composed image. Thanks for sharing, have a beautiful day.

Hello Abmdsudi,
It looks like a huge leaf with bugs on it, until one's eyes catch the buildings that have too angular shapes to be bugs. Beautiful patterns and colors.
If you don't mind me asking, do you do photography for a living?
Regards,
MT

Hi Abmdsudi,
fantastic composition from a great POV which allowed to squeeze the rice terraces so that they create a very eye catching geometrical pattern. The presence of the houses in between helps to imagine the scale of the fields.
Excellent work!!
M

Hi Abmdsudi!
An incredible landscape of a fantastic region! Your pov is perfect to show the pattern of the rice fields. I like the composition with the green plants growing and the little houses around. Good shot!

All those shining flooded terraces, some green, others like a mirror, render a mesmerizing effect, a kind of visual rhythm that makes it an image with much visual impact. You chose a good framing also.